News latest news and updates

ARK was appointed by Black Country Talent Match (BCTM) to develop a social return on investment framework for their innovative Big Lottery funded programme designed to address the problems of high levels of unemployment amongst 18-24 year olds.

Social Return on Investment (SROI) is a method of calculating the wider social impact of a project, providing a financial measure of the wider social and economic benefits the project is delivering. We measure a number of outcomes including training, education and skills, volunteering, apprenticeships and employment and calculate savings to the public purse. These outcomes are then compared against the final cost of delivering the programme.

Our consultants worked with BCTM to develop a framework of measures to calculate the effective delivery of the projects aims and objectives. As of November 2016 a total of 592 young people who participated in the programme have delivered a fantastic £7.7m in social return, this equates to every £1 spent delivering £1.31 of wider social and economic benefits. The 2016 return demonstrates the increasing impact BCTM; the 2015 return showed a return ratio of £1.20 SROI for every £1 spent so this year demonstrates a 10% increase in SROI.

ARK’s Director Helen Scurr said “We are delighted to be working with Talent Match Black Country who are making a real difference to the lives of young people in the local area, helping them overcome the barriers to accessing training and employment. It is great to see young people developing new skills and increasing their confidence levels.

“The social return on investment ratio of £1.31 for every £1 spent highlights the real impact these projects deliver, not just to the young people involved but to the wider community and economy. We are currently completing the evaluation for 2018 and reporting even higher levels of return”.

Kim Babb, Project Manager BCTM said “At Talent Match, we strongly believe that all young people are talented and can reach their full potential if only given the right opportunities in life. We are proud of young people’s successes and value the support of all our delivery partners and key stakeholders. Working alongside ARK Consultancy has allowed us to effectively demonstrate and communicate the social value and impact of the work we do and the progress our young people make”.